Ὄνθος
dung
Translated by William Hutton21 Oct 2003Vetting: high5 revisions
Translation
[Meaning] manure. That is, the excrement of cattle.1
Homer [writes]: "and his mouth was filled with the dung of kine."2
They call the animalcule a 'dung-beetle'. It is said that it lays its seed in dung and thus rolls it around with its feet until the seed, having been exercised, is revivified and germinates. A dung beetle is never female; instead all are born male.3
And they dung the wine up by mixing old [wine] with it.4
Homer [writes]: "and his mouth was filled with the dung of kine."2
They call the animalcule a 'dung-beetle'. It is said that it lays its seed in dung and thus rolls it around with its feet until the seed, having been exercised, is revivified and germinates. A dung beetle is never female; instead all are born male.3
And they dung the wine up by mixing old [wine] with it.4
Greek original · Adler’s text
Ὄνθος· βόλβιτον. τουτέστιν ἡ τῶν βοῶν κόπρος. Ὅμηρος· ἐν δ' ὄνθου βοέος πλῆτο στόμα. φασὶ δὲ κάνθαρον τὸ ζωΰφιον· λέγεται δὲ εἰς ὄνθον ἀποσπερματίζειν καὶ οὕτω περιστρέφειν τοῖς ποσίν, ἕως ὅτου ἐγγυμνασθὲν τὸ σπέρμα ἀποδοθῇ καὶ ἐγγεννήσῃ. θῆλυς δὲ κάνθαρος οὐ γίνεται, ἀλλὰ πάντες ἄρσενες γεννῶνται. καὶ ὀνθηλεύουσι τὸν οἶνον συμμιγνύντες αὐτῷ σαπρόν.
Betacode
*)/onqos: bo/lbiton. toute/stin h( tw=n bow=n ko/pros. *(/omhros: e)n d' o)/nqou boe/os plh=to sto/ma. fasi\ de\ ka/nqaron to\ zwu/+fion: le/getai de\ ei)s o)/nqon a)pospermati/zein kai\ ou(/tw peristre/fein toi=s posi/n, e(/ws o(/tou e)ggumnasqe\n to\ spe/rma a)podoqh=| kai\ e)ggennh/sh|. qh=lus de\ ka/nqaros ou) gi/netai, a)lla\ pa/ntes a)/rsenes gennw=ntai. kai\ o)nqhleu/ousi to\n oi)=non summignu/ntes au)tw=| sapro/n.
Notes (4)
- 1Likewise or similarly in other lexica: see the references at Photius omicron342 Theodoridis; they include a scholion to the Homeric line about to be quoted. ↩
- 2Homer, Iliad 23.777 (web address 1). ↩
- 3From the scholia to Aristophanes, Peace 7, where Greek literature's most famous dung-beetle appears; cf. kappa 310 (end). ↩
- 4Quoted from kappa 334. ↩
External resources
- Web address 1 perseus.tufts.edu
Linked from2 entries
- κ310Κάνθαροςdung-beetle[The term comes] from the pack-ass [ka/nqwn], that is the donkey; and from the seminal fluid [o)ro/s], that is the seed. For they say that the dung-beetle is conceived in this way. Whenever it finds a compacted piece of…
- κ334Καπηλικῶςdeceptively, vamped up for saleMeaning rascally. Since tavern-keepers adulterate the wine, mixing old [wine] with it. "Your tavern-keepers make the wine turbid."
Neighbouring entries
Revision history5 revisions · last 19 Jan 2021
- tweaked translation — Catharine Roth
- upgraded link — Catharine Roth
- augmented notes — David Whitehead
- typo — Catharine Roth
- augmented notes and keywords — David Whitehead
- Translated — William Hutton